Testosterone booster dietary supplement products can contain ingredients such as Tribulus terrestris, Eurycoma longifolia (Tongkat Ali or Longjack), maca, yohimbe, arginine, and epimedium (horny goat weed). They claim to increase male sexual hormones such as testosterone, which affect muscle strength, endurance, and male sexual performance, but there is insufficient evidence to support this claim. Testosterone-booster dietary supplements are not drugs and should not contain drugs, but they fall in the class of high-risk dietary supplements, and FDA has found that they often contain undeclared drug ingredients, anabolic steroids, or “designer steroids” that are illegal.

Visit the Operation Supplement Safety (OPSS) FAQsfor more questions and answers about dietary supplements. You can also visit the OPSS High-Risk Supplement List for information about certain dietary supplements that may pose health or sport anti-doping risks.

Your body makes omega-7 fatty acids, but will getting more from supplements be beneficial? Check out the new OPSS FAQ.

What are omega-7 fatty acids? And do omega-7 supplements convey the health benefits advertised?

Omega-7 fatty acids are a type of unsaturated fat. Omega-7s are considered non-essential fatty acids, which means your body can make enough omega-7s to function properly. In other words, you don’t need to get them from foods or supplements.

One of the most common forms of omega-7s, which is also used in supplements, is palmitoleic acid (not to be confused with palmitic acid, which is a saturated fat). Omega-7 supplements are marketed for health benefits such as heart and liver health, improved cholesterol levels, weight loss, glucose (blood sugar) metabolism, and immune support. Limited research has shown some benefits from palmitoleic acid supplementation, but most of the research has been done on animals and only for short test periods (less than four weeks). As a result, no recommended dose or source of palmitoleic acid exists, and there is not enough evidence to suggest that omega-7 supplements can improve heart health or health in general.

If you’re looking for cognitive enhancers or “smart drugs,” you may want to think twice. Here’s the latest OPSS FAQ.

Nootropics—also referred to as “cognitive enhancers,” “smart drugs,” or “memory enhancers”—are substances intended to improve mental performance. They include drugs used to treat a variety of conditions that affect mental performance such as Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, epilepsy, schizophrenia, stroke, aging, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). For example, drugs in the racetam family—such as piracetam, aniracetam, oxiracetam, and pramiracetam —are considered nootropics. Some nootropics are marketed for use as dietary supplements to enhance the mental performance of healthy humans.

Nootropic products that contain any “racetam” or similar drugs are not legal dietary supplements as defined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), although many also contain vitamins and other natural or synthetic dietary supplement ingredients. In the U.S., piracetam, aniracetam, pramiracetam, and oxiracetam are currently neither controlled substances nor FDA-approved drugs. FDA has issued statements indicating that piracetam-containing “dietary supplement” products do not fit the legal definition of a dietary supplement, since “racetams” do not occur naturally and are not derivatives of any natural substance.

Although scientific study of nootropics is ongoing, there isn’t enough reliable information available to say with confidence whether any specific nootropic agents are safe or effective. Studies that have examined the effects of these compounds on the mental performance of healthy humans have yielded mixed results, so further study is needed. In the absence of reliable research, we generally suggest extreme caution.

Does your dietary supplement’s advertising promise more than the product can actually deliver?

HPRC has often posted information about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and safety surrounding the topic of dietary supplements. But there’s another Federal agency watchdogging the supplements industry: the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). One of the primary missions of FTC is to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive business practices. That includes misleading or false advertising and claims. FTC advertising law states that all claims by dietary supplement manufacturers and distributors must be substantiated before they are made. So far in 2014 alone, FTC has issued press releases regarding unsatisfactory practices by dietary supplement companies. Most recently, one marketer admitted to wrongfully marketing weight-loss benefits of green coffee beans through appearances on television talk shows. Please see the FTC press release for more information.

Just as FDA has a reporting system for adverse effects associated with dietary supplements, FTC has a consumer complaint process that you can use. For this and other consumer information related to dietary supplements, visit this FTC web page.

At this time, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved any vaccines or drugs for the prevention or treatment of Ebola. However, online advertising of some dietary supplement products makes claims that they can prevent or cure this deadly infectious disease.

By definition, a dietary supplement product cannot make a claim that it will prevent or cure a disease. FDA advises consumers to be aware that these products are fraudulent and should not be used. You can read more about these products and about Ebola in FDA’s Press Announcement. And be sure to visit the Operation Supplement Safety (OPSS) website to learn more about dietary supplements in general and how to choose supplements wisely.

HPRC’s updated list of products with DMAA for December 2014 is now online. But read on for information about “replacement” ingredients and related concerns.

1,3 dimethylamylamine (DMAA) is slowly disappearing from the U.S. market, but we decided to update our list of “Products containing DMAA” once more. As you will see from the list, it continues to shorten, but there are still some companies—including a few in the U.S.—that continue to manufacture or distribute dietary supplement products that contain this now-illegal ingredient. In addition, there are still many discontinued products that remain for sale from retail stock.

SARMs can be found in some dietary supplement products, but are they legal and will they cause a positive drug test?

Some dietary supplement products contain illegal ingredients, but they still can be found in stores and on the Internet. One example of this is the presence of SARMs, or “selective androgen receptor modulators,” in products typically advertised to have effects similar to anabolic steroids. These ingredients, used in dietary supplements, are not legal and should be avoided.

Read the new Operation Supplement Safety (OPSS) FAQ about SARMs to learn more, including how to identify ingredient names for SARMs that may appear on dietary supplement labels. And remember: FDA does not approve dietary supplements prior to marketing. For more information on FDA’s role with regard to dietary supplements, visit FDA Basics.

There is no banned dietary supplement list in the military, but you can learn how to make informed decisions about dietary supplement use.

Lately, HPRC has been receiving a lot of questions about the use of banned supplements in the military, but the fact is: There isn’t a list of banned dietary supplements currently available. It isn’t always easy to determine whether a dietary supplement product is safe or not, so the Department of Defense (DoD), together with HPRC, provides helpful resources on the Operation Supplement Safety (OPSS) website to help you choose supplements wisely. With regard to the military’s stance on supplements in general, please see the OPSS FAQ about a "banned list,"which is pertinent to all service branches.

Some dietary supplements, including ones sold on military installations, contain potentially harmful and problematic ingredients. For some tips about how to avoid these, read the OPSS infosheet “Red Flags—What You Need to Know.” In addition, some other potentially dangerous ingredients include prescription drug ingredients and their analogs, drugs banned by FDA for safety reasons, controlled substances (such as anabolic steroids), and untested/unstudied new active drug ingredients, which may not be listed on the product label.

One way to ensure that a dietary supplement product is safe is to see if it is third-party verified. Third-party certification organizations have developed criteria for evaluating and authenticating the quality of a supplement—the ingredients, the dosage levels, the level of contaminants, the label claims, and whether the manufacturing facilities follow Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).

The Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database (NMCD) is the gold standard for evidence-based information on dietary supplement products and ingredients and is an HPRC partner. (Subscription is free if you have a “.mil” email address; visit the OPSS FAQ for more information.) NMCD rates products on a scale of 1 to 10 based on safety and effectiveness. We encourage you to consider only using products rated 8 or above.

To avoid potential problems, talk with your healthcare provider or dietitian before using dietary supplements. Also, see FDA’s list of tainted bodybuilding products, which includes important public notifications.

Watch HPRC’s new Operation Supplement Safety Public Service Announcement from a Gold Star mother.

In a new Operation Supplement Safety (OPSS) PSA video, Gold Star mother Ms. Terri Bellamy-Coleman urges service members to seek out information and guidance on dietary supplements from the appropriate sources before taking them. Ms. Bellamy-Coleman’s son, who was attending the NCO (Noncommissioned Officer Academy, WLC (Warrior Leadership Course) in Fort Benning, GA at the time of his death, had been taking dietary supplements when he exerted himself during physical training, suffered a heart arrhythmia, and died. He had the sickle-cell trait, which may have aggravated the situation. She wants others to be aware of the possible risks associated with dietary supplements, especially when certain medical conditions are present, and urges service members to seek information to help prevent possible harmful health effects. Please watch the video, “A Mother’s Plea."

Check out our new OPSS FAQs about stimulants and other ingredients found in dietary supplement products that present potential risks.

How do I know if my dietary supplement product contains a stimulant? Are they a potential problem for me? What are peptide hormones and are they safe? Is DMBA the same thing as DMAA? We’ve received many questions on these topics and offer some answers.

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